For First Time Indian American Sworn In Judge Of Second Most Powerful US Court

India-born solicitor Srikant Srinivasan was on Thursday sworn in as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

It makes Srinivasan the first South Asian American to serve as a circuit court judge - the second most powerful court of the United States - in U.S. history.

Retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who administered the oath of office and secrecy at the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit, called him "fair, faultless and fabulous," India's PTI news agency reported.

The swearing-in ceremony, held in an overflowing court room, was also attended by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur, who is accompanying the Indian leader on his participation in the U.N. General Assembly session.

Of southern Indian origin, Srinivasan was born in the northern state of Punjab, which is also the native state of Gursharan Kaur.

From Punjab's capital Chandigarh, Srinivasan's parents migrated to the United States in the 1970s. He was raised in Lawrence, Kansas. Srinivasan spent nearly two decades as an extraordinary litigator before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals, both on behalf of the United States and in private practice.

Known as Sri Srinivasan, he had been serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor-General of the United States when President Barack Obama nominated him to one of the country's most influential courts.

The U.S. Senate in May unanimously confirmed the key Obama nominee with an overwhelming support of 97-0 vote.

In a statement following the bipartisan approval, Obama described Srinivasan as "a trailblazer who personifies the best of America.

"One of my favorite people right now (is), Sri Srinivasan, who has just been confirmed," Obama said at a White House reception held to celebrate the month of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

A former lecturer at Harvard Law School, Srinivasan is a likely front-runner for a Supreme Court nomination if a vacancy arises during Obama's term, U.S. media report.

Forty-six-year-old Srinivasan is married to American Carla Garrett, and lives in Arlington, Virginia.